Clay Dragons with Dragons of Whimsy

Clay Dragon Sculpture with Dragons of Whimsy

By Michele Thymmons and Vered Gillman of Dragons of Whimsy

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Clay Dragon Sculpture with Dragons of Whimsy

Dirt Dragon Sculptures with Dragons of Whimsy

Have you ever watched a picture or Television receiver show like How to Train Your Dragon, Dragon Eye, Dungeons & Dragons, Harry Potter, The Hobbit, Eragon, the Never-ending Story, or Game of Thrones, and wanted your own dragon? They are creatures of myth and legend, nevertheless we are fascinated by their ability, terrible beauty, strength, and ferociousness.  At to the lowest degree I know I am :) Which is why I am very excited to start this ii month series of Dragon Maker Features!! Over the next two months nosotros will have several Dragon Maker Features and I will also write an commodity or two about crochet dragons, delve into their myths and legends, requite you resources to capture your own dragons, and I will even make ane (or more :) myself!! This Maker Feature group are all amazingly talented artists who use clay to make their dragons and other mythical creatures come alive!

We will exist starting this series with the Dragons of Whimsy, a magical and enchanting land, where Vered has captured her vision of dragons in clay and made them come live! Her dragons are caught in a variety of poses and environments, from those that are found sleeping on treestars, flowers, and leaves, to those that stare up at yous with big beautiful eyes. Her Draegonlings are adorable little ones sleeping, and her milky way dragons are heavenly :) Have a dragon in your mind that you want captured? Vered can create one for you likewise! In this Maker Feature, she describes her journeying and some of the resources that have helped her to hone her craft.

Vered: Y'all tin observe her on Instagram and her Etsy Shop, althougth her customs are closed you can nevertheless follow her on Instagram to run across the latest clay dragon sculpture she is working on.

Always since I was a footling girl, I have always loved annihilation magical and mystical. In fact, I discover myself utterly enchanted by really anything in the fantasy genre as a whole. Whether I was binge reading novels nigh hidden magical worlds, concocting costumes for fantastical cosplay, or creating whimsical paintings, the realm of fantasy has been my lifelong passion and pursuit.

My artistic endeavors really did non start with dirt dragons, though. For years, my medium of choice was paint. My walls and my closet are filled with acrylic paintings whose subjects are mainly surreal whimsical trees and reimaginings of animals and nature. For a long time in that location was never annihilation more than exciting than the 2-for-1 canvas sales which meant I could paint and paint to my heart's content!

Clay Dragon Sculpture with Dragons of Whimsy

It wasn't until 2016 that I offset discovered polymer dirt. I was planning my enchanted forest themed wedding, but being on a tight budget, I turned to the DIY route for almost everything. I was meticulously looking for the perfect guest volume, and couldn't find anything that was merely right. My search eventually led me to fantasy book covers fabricated from polymer clay. I started researching and decided right and then that even though I had never used polymer clay, I was going to make our nuptials invitee book out of information technology. So subsequently a full day of watching tutorials, I went to the fine art store, bought a bunch of supplies, and spent another total day making our perfect wedding guest book. Looking back now, there are things I definitely could accept done improve (like blistering it longer!) simply it will ever be perfect to me because it is inevitably what led me down this path.

After a lot of experimenting, I eventually ended upwards making dragons because, well, I honey them and then much. The wonderful thing nearly creating dragons is that, since nobody knows what they really expect like, the sky's the limit! For me, personally, dragons are elemental beings, and so I by and large get my inspiration from nature, and look for her subtleties everywhere I get.

My advice to anyone who wants to first using polymer clay is, first and foremost, be true to yourself, and just brand sure that you lot are making things that you lot beloved and that make you lot happy. If you don't know what yous want to make or where to start, look to your favorite artists and detect the way their art makes yous feel. Take that feeling and plow it into something original and unique of your own design. Start small and uncomplicated and build up - it can be really frustrating and time consuming when you are learning, so make sure you enjoy the process and what y'all become out of it. Keep at it and you can't assist but improve. In a higher place all, keep creating, continue dreaming, and continue making magic!

Resource that helped me:

Clay Dragon Sculpture with Dragons of Whimsy

Polymer Clay Tutor: She is a wealth of knowledge! She has tutorial videos for so many polymer clay techniques, including how to make a skinner blend without a pasta automobile! I used her skinner alloy technique for my Sleeping Beauty Dragon.

Artistic Rachy on youtube, specifically this tutorial found here:
This is a slap-up tutorial for tips and tricks for people just starting out with polymer clay. I watched this one when I was just learning virtually the medium. It has some tips on how to mix colors, baking, correct temperature, and what to do if your clay is stale out. It really helped me out a lot in the very beginning of my clay journey.

This youtube tutorial from Artzierush establish here. I watched this tutorial before I even attempted to make a dragon. What I dearest about this detail tutorial is that she guides people into figuring out how to make their ain design with their ain ideas. She besides discusses some basic anatomy tips.

Dragons and Beasties, specifically this tutorial found here:
I watched this tutorial when I didn't even know how to begin sculpting the full general shape of a dragon, and she guides y'all through from armature making to finished dragon.


The Bluish Canteen Tree has and so many astonishing tips for using polymer clay for beginners. I pretty much read through all of their beginner manufactures when I beginning started out, from how to buy clay, how to bake dirt, to products not to use in on your clay.

If y'all like this, you lot may as well like:

  • Ultimate Listing of Dragon Makers on Instagram

  • Clay Dragons with Bella Enchanted Studio

  • Clay Dragons with Clay Works with Jen

Note - This post contains affiliate links, which means I will make a commission at no extra cost to you, should you click through and make a purchase.

Clay Dragon Sculpture with Dragons of Whimsy

Anybody creates, designs, and learns things differently. With this in listen, I've tried to include a variety of articles/resources below about dirt dragon sculptures, clay sculptures, and more will be added to other manufactures of the Capturing the Dragons of your Dreams Serial. Nigh of these resource are gratis but others include classes or resource that are paid. Starting with myths and legends (no dragon series would be complete without including different true worldwide myths and legends as dragons tin exist establish everywhere!) and then delving into clay sculpting and where you can observe these resources will exist the iii types of resource in each of these articles.

Dragon Myths and Legends From Effectually the World:

10 Mythical Dragon Entities from Different Cultures describes 10 dissimilar dragon myths from Egypt, Georgia (the land), Kingdom of bhutan, Scandinavia, Mesoamerica (Southward and Central America), Sumeria, Greece, Scotland, Republic of india, and aboriginal Iran (Persia). Each of these is shown in picture and described every bit they are known in culture and history. Did you know that the Druk (Bhutan) is too known equally the Thunder Dragon and is the reason why the Kingdom of bhutan leaders have the title Thunder Dragon Kings? Pretty cool. :)

Where Did Dragons Come From? past the Smithsonian Magazine. E'er wonder where dragon myths may have originated from? The Smithsonian delved into this for their commodity for the Chinese New Year - Twelvemonth of the Dragon (2012). Some of the these explanations include dinosaurs, nile crocodile, goanna (Australian large, predatory brute), Whales, and even the human brain - huh? Interesting to see what the ancients could have used to explain the unexplainable.

Clay Dragon Sculpture with Dragons of Whimsy

List of Dragons in Mythology and Folklore literally lists out the diverse dragons divided into region (Asian and European simply) as well as an even longer list of other dragons. If yous're truly wanting to delve into dragons of myths this is an extensive list to start with :)

Clay Sculpting:

Pinnacle Tips for Beginner Clay Sculptors gives x tips from a variety of clay sculptors on how to fix and start sculpting your own dirt pieces whether it be human, characters, dragons, etc.

Beginners Guide to Sculpting in Clay describes how to commencement with water-based dirt and lists our five useful tips to work with clay. The final of which is to observe a local studio that may take classes to aid with techniques and working with clay hands on.

Learn Sculpture is a series of videos by Chuck Oldham (posted 6 years ago) that walks you through his methods for creating sculptures of animals and people.

Where you Can Purchase these Materials/Equipment:

Clay Dragon Sculpture by Dragons of Whimsy

Online Locations:

I am currently working on an Ultimate List of where y'all can find clay materials and equipment that will be posted presently. :)

Physical Locations:

If you prefer to actually touch and come across (maybe even scent :)) these items and discuss them with someone physically, most of your local craft stores have some of the types of dirt described above as well as the equipment. These stores can include Michaels, Joann Fabrics, Hobby Foyer, sometimes even Staples, CVS, Target, Walmart, and other grocery stores may take modeling dirt or other types of clay and the equipment needed to craft the base of operations/foundation of the clay sculpture or clay dragon sculpture you lot want to capture.

You can find other maker features here most sculpting, blueprint writing, web log creating, and wood carving and you can detect tutorials for Tailwind, blocking your handmades and more here. I'd also love to hear from you nigh what types of resources you want more information on as well as Makers y'all would like to nominate for a Maker Feature! Delight email me or exit a annotate on this commodity! Looking forward to hearing from you and take a cracking twenty-four hour period!

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